[Ecommerce] BetaNews: Mass. to Dump Microsoft Office by 2007

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Mass_to_Dump_Microsoft_Office_by_2007/11255=
91719


  Mass. to Dump Microsoft Office by 2007


    By Nate Mook <mailto:%20nmook@betanews.com>, BetaNews


      September 1, 2005, 12:21 PM

Massachusetts is moving forward with a plan to transition from
proprietary document formats to XML-based open standards. But the latest
draft of the proposal includes one notable change: Microsoft Office is
no longer considered an open format and thus is not sanctioned for use.

Two years ago, Massachusetts officials embarked on an ambitious project
to promote the use of open source and open standards software within the
state government. The goal was to save money that would have been spent
licensing expensive proprietary software and ensure interoperability
between agencies.

"The Commonwealth defines open formats as specifications for data file
formats that are based on an underlying open standard, developed by an
open community, affirmed and maintained by a standards body and are
fully documented and publicly available," reads the guidelines.

Massachusetts chose the OpenDocument format as suitable for use, and
will require all office applications to support the standard.
OpenDocument, otherwise known as the OASIS Open Document Format for
Office Applications
<http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=3Doffice>, is
supported by OpenOffice.org, StarOffice, KOffice, and IBM Workplace.

The commonwealth established a deadline of January 1, 2007 for migrating
to applications that work with OpenDocument. "Any acquisition of new
office applications must support the OpenDocument standard," the policy
says.

Microsoft Office 2003 -- by far the most popular office suite used by
the majority of businesses and governments -- would not be acceptable
under the new rules. In January, Microsoft endeavored to strike a deal
<http://www.betanews.com/article/Analyst_MS_Office_Formats_Not_Open/1107211=
516>
with Massachusetts that would recognize Office 2003 as an "open standard."

Office 2003 is based on XML, but the format uses proprietary schemas
that are guarded under complex Microsoft licenses. Redmond's chief XML
architect Jean Paoli attempted to appease Massachusetts in an open
letter <http://www.microsoft.com/office/xml/janletter.mspx> issued in
January.

"We are acknowledging that end users who merely open and read government
documents that are saved as Office XML files within software programs
will not violate the license," Paoli said.

The move seemed to work, and Massachusetts Secretary of Administration
and Finance Eric Kriss said that Microsoft has "made representations to
us recently they are planning to modify that license, and we believe, if
they do so in the way that we understand that they have spoken
about...the next iteration of the Open Format standard will include some
Microsoft proprietary formats."

But the latest draft specification
<http://www.mass.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=3Ditdterminal&L=3D3&L0=3DHome&=
L1=3DPolicies%2c+Standards+%26+Legal&L2=3DDrafts+for+Review&sid=3DAitd&b=3D=
terminalcontent&f=3Dpolicies_standards_ETRM_v3dot5draft_information&csid=3D=
Aitd>,
which is available for review until September 9, makes no mention of
Microsoft - except acknowledging that the migration will not be easy.

"Given the majority of Executive Department agencies currently use
office applications such as MS Office, Lotus Notes and WordPerfect that
produce documents in proprietary formats, the magnitude of the migration
effort to this new open standard is considerable," the specification reads.

Adobe's PDF format will be allowed, although the version of PDF used
must support XML.

In a statement
<http://www.mass.gov/portal/index.jsp?pageID=3Ditdterminal&L=3D3&L0=3DHome&=
L1=3DPolicies%2c+Standards+%26+Legal&L2=3DOpen+Standards&sid=3DAitd&b=3Dter=
minalcontent&f=3Dpolicies_standards_ETRMVersion3.0PublicReviewandOpenFormat=
s&csid=3DAitd>,
Massachusetts' chief information officer, Peter Quinn, hinted that
discussions with industry representatives may have swayed the
commonwealth away from Microsoft formats.

"These discussions have centered on open formats particularly as they
relate to office documents, their importance for the current and future
accessibility of government records, and the relative "openness" of the
format options available to us," Quinn said.

"This new draft version...identifies the newly ratified OASIS Open
Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) as our standard
for office documents."

Microsoft could, however, receive a reprieve when it launches Office 12
in late 2006. The new suite will be based around completely new file
formats dubbed Open Office XML, which are fully documented and royalty
free. Although Micorsoft's formats will not be defined by a standards
body, Microsoft's Paoli told BetaNews, "It can be used by and
interoperable with others."

Paoli added that it was too early to say whether or not Office 12 will
support the OASIS OpenDocument standard.